Man sues American Airlines after becoming squashed next to obese passengers

A New Way to Pick the Best Seat4:48

Routehappy is a startup that ranks flights by amenities such as leg room and outlets and it's gaining in popularity among travelers as well as airlines themselves. WSJ's Scott McCartney discusses with Tanya Rivero. Photo: United Airlines

February 24th 2016

3 years ago

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A NSW man is suing American Airlines after he became squashed sitting next to two “grossly obese” passengers during a long-haul flight.

Michael Anthony Taylor, of Wollongong, is seeking more than $100,000 in damages from the airline, claiming he was crushed by the next passenger during the whole flight from Sydney to Los Angeles and refused permission from flight crew to move to another seat. He says the discomfort aggravated an existing back problem.

According to documents lodged in court, Mr Taylor was seated next to the window in economy class on the December 2015 flight, sharing the row with two passengers described as “grossly obese”.

The body of the passenger next to Mr Taylor “spilt over and encroached” into his seat, forcing him to “contort his body into a series of positions including standing up, crouching, keeling and leaning forward”.

Wollongong man Michael Anthony Taylor is seeking more than $100,000 in damages from American Airlines after being squashed in his seat on the flight in December 2015. Picture: Adam WardSource:News Corp Australia

The situation caused Mr Taylor to experience pain, injuries and discomfort during the whole flight, which is about 14 hours long. He says he has since suffered back injuries, neck pain and injuries, ongoing discomfort and the aggravation of pre-existing scoliosis — curvature of the spine.

Mr Taylor’s lawyer, Thomas Jansen of Shine Lawyers, said his client repeatedly asked the cabin crew if he could move to another seat, but he wasn’t allowed.

“Mr Taylor asked the cabin crew on numerous occasions if he could sit in another passenger’s seat, or sit on one of the crew seats, or sit in the aisle or even to sit on the toilet seat to alleviate the pain and discomfort that he was suffering from. One each occasion, he was refused and rebuffed,” Mr Jansen said.

“As a result of the fact that American Airlines failed to reseat him or even offer a viable alternative, he suffered bodily injuries by contorting his body within the cramped space caused by the intrusion of the grossly obese passenger sitting next to him.”

Lawyer Thomas Jansen said American Airlines could easily have avoided a lawsuit by simply letting Mr Taylor move to another seat. Picture: Rachel de GraafSource:Supplied

Mr Taylor’s claim comes amid growing concern over airlines shrinking seats and cutting back on legroom in order to cram more passengers onto flights.

Concerns over the ever-shrinking plane seat prompted a push last year to get the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration to set a minimum seat size and legroom requirements for airlines, which was rejected.

Mr Jansen said as seats continue to shrink on planes, cases such as Mr Taylor’s are likely to become more common.

“This will definitely become a more persistent issue,” he said.

“American Airlines has recently announced that they are removing up to two inches of leg room in some passenger seats in the Economy class cabin in their new passenger aircraft.

“If Michael is successful, there will likely be many more lawsuits around the world concerning this issue.”